Chapter 9: Musicians

Next is the clan ceremony, which begins with a sacrificial ceremony where people pray around a bonfire, worshipping gods and ancestors as well as the clan's totem.

The totem of the Sleeping Bear Clan is a majestic North American grizzly bear, lying in the ice and snow with its eyes closed in deep sleep.

After the sacrifice, people drank and ate meat in laughter. Meanwhile, men and women observed each other and prepared to form a new family.

There are almost all widows and widowers on both sides, and many new families will inevitably be born with the merger of clans.

The Sleeping Bear Clan has no tradition of winemaking and almost no experience in trading with white people. The wine they drink is obtained through exchanges or battles with other tribes.

These wines are basically brewed from corn and have a very low alcohol content. Ma Shao tasted a little and felt that it was similar to beer in later generations.

But he never liked drinking, so he tried it out of curiosity and never touched it again.

He only likes happy water.

"Musician." Stone Crow looked at Ma Shao with a smile on his face, "Let our new tribesmen enjoy your music."

Before he finished speaking, more than a hundred eyes, young and old, men, women, and children, turned to Ma Shao.

Although people often came to listen to him whistling, this was the first time that so many people gathered together at once, especially with so many women among them. He suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

This gave him a strange sense of déjà vu, as if he had performed in front of his relatives during the Chinese New Year as a child in his previous life.

Of course, inner embarrassment rarely shows on Ma Shao's face. Although his skin is not thick, it is of very good quality.

He thought about it calmly, and after a moment of thinking, a melodious whistle sounded from his mouth.

The tune he played this time was "Where is the Way?", which is the theme song of the old version of the TV series Journey to the West.

He felt that the current atmosphere was quite suitable for this song.

You carry the load, I lead the horse; we greet the sunrise and see off the sunset...

The horses and baggage were right beside the men, and the sunset had just begun, its afterglow replaced by the bonfire in the center of the Sleeping Bear camp.

Although there was only music but no lyrics, the tribesmen were still deeply attracted by the song.

The melodious, melancholy yet determined music made them calm down and listen attentively.

This is rare.

When it comes to major gatherings, Indians have always admired noise and bustle, and there will often be people shouting and yelling from beginning to end, making it impossible to have a peaceful gathering.

However, at this moment, no matter who it was, even Fengsheng's rude and noisy father, they all shut their mouths and listened to the music quietly.

Soon, the only sounds in the camp were the crackling of the fire and the whistling of the cold wind, and the melodious tune of "Where is the Road?"

Ma Shao didn't take it seriously at first, but as everyone listened quietly, he became more and more into the state, and past memories played in his mind.

"good!!"

When the song was over, he stood up loudly, raised his hands above his head and clapped wildly. Others followed suit and cheered.

This is praise from the heart.

In the Stone Age society of the Indians, exquisite whistles were absolutely comparable to the best musical instruments, and the tunes played by horse whistles became classic masterpieces of later generations, which themselves have a unique charm that transcends time and space.

Not to mention the Indians, even the Westerners who colonized the world in this era would probably feel like they had entered a new world after listening to this whistle song.

"sounds so good!"

"That's great! Give me another one, little whistle!"

"One more, one more..."

People were shouting and making a fuss, so Ma Shao had to blow a new song.

This time he played "The Sun Also Rises", the theme song of Let the Bullets Fly.

Another charming piece of music, the tribesmen listened quietly again. These brave and warlike Apaches who were accustomed to galloping on the grassland seemed to have become gentlemen in the opera house at this moment.

However, this song often reminds Ma Shao of heroes, and the tune is quite tragic, with a feeling of "the hero will never come back once he leaves." Some tribesmen, perhaps thinking of their dead relatives, began to cry softly as they listened to it.

Laughter is contagious, and so is crying. A sad atmosphere gradually spread among the tribe.

Ma Shao quickly realized the problem and stopped immediately: "Sorry, everyone... this song seems a little sad."

No one blamed him, but only admired the performer, especially some children who were about the same age as Ma Shao, who looked at him with eyes full of admiration.

When "The Sun Also Rises" ended, a group of children gathered around Ma Shao.

The first two children to run over were a boy and a girl. They looked very similar, but they disliked each other. They were most likely siblings.

"You are so awesome!" The little girl was so tender and cute that she couldn't help but say it with little stars in her eyes.

The little boy hesitated and said, "How did you do that? Why can't I make any sound?"

"Hmph, you're so stupid, of course you can't blow it!" the little girl choked, and she jumped a little while speaking, as if trying to make her words more persuasive.

"You talk as if you can blow it out..." The boy curled his lips in disdain.

"Hello." Ma Shao smiled politely and introduced himself.

"Hello, hello! My name is Little Sparrow!" The girl's eyes lit up and she quickly introduced herself, then poked the boy next to her, "He is my brother, but he is shorter than me."

"Hello, my name is little beast." The boy angrily avoided his sister's finger and said so.

Ma Shao was stunned.

"…What's your name?" He suspected that he had heard it wrong.

"Little bastard." The boy obviously knew that this name was shameful, and he showed a bit of embarrassment on his face. "I don't like this name, but my mother always calls me that, and I don't have any other name... But sooner or later, I will definitely get an extremely glorious name on the battlefield! Absolutely!"

Ma Shao was embarrassed, but he also understood the situation.

Indians give names casually, especially nicknames and nicknames, which are often unbearable to look at, and are even worse than the "Goudan" and so on in rural China.

Having said that, the name "little bastard" is a bit too...

"Nice to meet you, little beast." Ma Shao always felt something strange after saying this.

"Can you teach me to whistle?" said the little brute.

"Please teach us." Other children also said this, hoping to learn such magical skills.

"This is not easy to teach. You can only try it yourself." Although Ma Shao was a teacher, he had never taught the skill of whistling.

"Then play it for us again and we'll learn it ourselves."

"Okay." Ma Shao agreed, and then played two songs for the children, "Miracle Reappears" and "Hot-blooded Duelist". The passionate and exciting music immediately awakened the 19th century middle school students' hearts and made them dance with joy.

The children danced and jumped, and the adults also began to dance around the bonfire. This was part of the ceremony and also a way to find a partner.

Men and women gradually formed pairs during the dance, and some even made marriage promises on the spot. The two clans escaped the fate of extinction and gained a new life through fusion.

The ceremony lasted until late at night, and as people gradually came to an end, the old chief and the stone crow sat in a corner and talked.

"Chief, don't you plan to get married again?" asked Stone Crow.

The old chief tapped the ashes on the ground and said, "No, I'm old, and my health is more important."

As the two talked, their eyes gradually turned to Ma Shao not far away. Ma Shao was still sitting among a group of children, whistling all kinds of new tunes, talking and laughing.

These were all children of the new tribesmen, but at this moment they all looked at Ma Shao with affection and admiration.

"Chief, I feel this child will become our hero." Stone Crow said sincerely.

But the old chief said slowly after a moment of silence: "No, my shaman...you may be wrong."

"What?" Stone Crow was stunned.

The old chief's eyes showed vicissitudes of life: "I think he is more likely to become everyone's hero."

"Everyone? You mean—"

The chief did not say anything else, but stood up from the ground where he had been sitting for a long time with some difficulty: "It's time to rest, let's go back."